AFTER OBSERVING Dalip Singh’s (the Great Khali) popularity and seeing huge amount of money he has earned in fighting for world wrestling entertainment (WWE), wrestling once again has become popular. And with Khali’s success account, it can be a good opportunity for Indian wrestlers to find their future in this field.

Malyudha and Malkrida are the ancient names for this great ancient Indian game. These words were used in Mahabharta and Ramayana. Malyudha was the battle form of wrestling while Malkrida was the game form of wrestling. In Indian epic Mahabhrata, Bhim was a great wrestler and his Malyudha with Jarashandha is a very famous part of the epic.

Another style of wrestling, commonly played in India, is called ’kushti’. From vedic period onwards, kusthi has been a very popular game. But there has never been a fixed set of rules for the game, hence it has always been played in styles varying from region to region. The history is evident of Indian art of defense and hence their concern of developing a good physique.

In medieval period, great Maratha leader, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and his Guru, Ramdas, both did a lot for this art in order to build a strong team to fight against the Mughals. Sahuji, the son of Shivaji, was a great wrestler of his time.

There are different forms of wrestling being played in India. Bhimsheni, Hanumathi, and Jarashndhi are the few famous styles. Kushti has two methods of choosing a winner – oritha and kato-pale.

After independence, India dominated this game and was placed in the top 10 countries of the world in this game form. India also hosted the world wrestling championship in 1967. Great Indian wrestler, KD Jadhav, won bronze in 1952 Olympics and that was the first individual medal for India in Olympics. Another great wrestler was Karim Buxs. Dara Singh is also one of the popular wrestlers of India.

Tiger Singh, Dalip Singh, and Sanjay Dutt have been famous in wrestling. And now, after a break once again wrestling is becoming popular in India, especially among children. We can hope of revival of the game in India.